DEAR FAT PEOPLE… In 2008, South Los Angeles passed an ordinance that restricted the opening or
expansion of new fast food restaurants, in hopes
Somatotypes are used in a system of classiÞcation of human physiques in terms of three extreme body types developed by U.S. psychologist W.H. Sheldon.
of making residents healthier.
Get the facts on El Niño
Homecoming The raises medical costs for people who are obese were school spirit
A recent YouTube video by Nicole Arbour has sparked a discussion about the reality of obesity in America.
In 2013 the United States was the second most obese industrialized nation with 31.8% of Americans falling into the obese category.
31.8%
A response ‘Dear The mayorto of Oklahoma City Fat his citizens to collectively People’ challenged lose one million pounds
HIGHLANDER Page 12
$1,429 higher than those of normal weight
THE
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Obesity was the third
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after the city was named one of
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Mesomorph
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America’s most overweight cities.
leading cause of death in 2009, after high blood pressure and smoking.
Sources: http://www.hufÞngtonpost.com, http://www.cdc.gov, http://time.com, http://www.jabfm.org
Carlmont High School — Belmont, California
October 2015 Vol VII Issue II
www.scotscoop.com twitter: @scotscoopnews
The downsides of being smart Ivy Nguyen
Some students are able to ace tests without studying. They breeze through homework and even spend time learning extra material. Many think that these privileged people go on to be rich, successful, and happy, but that’s not always the case. There's a dark side to having high intelligence. Though there are no studies that claim that there is causation between generic depression and intelligence, psychologist James Webb noted that highly intelligent people are more likely to suffer from “existential depression,” which entails struggles with issues of existence, including mortality, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness. Undoubtedly, there can be long-term benefits of being intelligent. Book-smart people often excel at school, get high-paying jobs, and even change the world for the better. However, if ignorance is bliss, then some might say that a high IQ is misery. Although there are nine different types of intelligence, including interpersonal intelligence and spatial intelligence, people most often associate the word "smart" with logical intelligence. Senior Alice Li said, “I think that there can be an association [between logical intelligence and social ineptness] in some cases. For me, it's generally difficult for me to speak up in more public situations since I get anxious easily.” A study led by Dr. James MacCabe, a senior lecturer and researcher at King's College London, suggests that there is an association between scholastic achievement in childhood and hospital admission for psychosis in adulthood. People naturally stereotype others, and the stereotype of the tortured genius includes being socially awkward or even arrogant. This stereotype is common in media like “The Big Bang Theory” and “Good Will Hunting (1997).” People have found other adverse effects of intelligence,
MINH-HAN VU AND IVY NGUYEN
“Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.” Ernest Hemingway “The Garden of Eden”
including thinking instead of feeling and understanding the failings of humans on Earth. Intelligent people are also sometimes perceived as braggarts or expected to always be top performers. Dr. Richard Weiss, a psychologist who has been in practice in Burlingame for over 25 years, said, “Somebody can be book smart and get a lot of rewards and reinforcement for that, so they will put effort into becoming more and more book smart and may not put effort into developing social and emotional competence. They might isolate themselves from or feel ostracized by people with better social intelligence.” “On the other hand, if somebody is socially or emotionally competent, then they get reinforced and rewarded for that, so they continue to develop their interpersonal intelligence. In terms of people who are solely logically intelligent or socially intelligent, the initial differences grow even larger as these people grow up.” However, some argue the opposite. Junior Lexi Posey said, “I would say that there is no association between being book smart and being socially awkward because social intelligence is a skill that is different from academic intelligence. It’s part of the nature vs. nurture debate, and I think that social intelligence has more to do with how a child is raised rather than how much logical intelligence a child was born with.” People value many types of intelligence in a person, and Weiss argues that people can strive to develop logical as well as social
intelligence. “There’s a saying that goes, ‘How many therapists does it take to change a lightbulb?’ ‘Just one, but the light bulb has got to want to change.’ If somebody is able to see their shortcomings or social challenges and if they are really motivated to make changes, then they can by trying to meet challenges head on and providing themselves with learning opportunities rather than disengaging in those situations,” said Weiss.
With deadlines approaching, seniors rush to finish college applications Elena Mateus We are at odds with one another. The competition is real, the stakes are high, with your future on the line. This do-or-die frenzy is upon us, taking form as the college application process. Mail boxes are flooding with bright colored pamphlets, boasting lush scenery and smiling students; high schoolers are planning and deciding the “right” extracurriculars to participate in. Deadlines for college applications are fast approaching, and getting accepted is more competitive than it’s ever been. Carlmont guidance counselor Ross Yokomura explained how landing a spot at a top university is more cutthroat than ever. “It really has changed; getting into college has gotten a lot more competitive. Students now have to do a lot more to be considered for admittance. It’s not just about the grades anymore,” he said.
Senior Cailan Cummings is currently cent to 41 percent. tackling the daunting application process. In general, there are more college-aged The highly motivated ASB supervisor students as a result of the baby boom era. said,“The fact is that more kids are apply- The population of 18 to 24-year-olds rose ing now, and college is becoming an option 13 percent between 2000 to 2010, accordfor more ing to U.S. and more News. The students.” greatest inAnd she’s crease of any right. Acage group cording to was the aging the National baby boomCenter for ers -- 31.5 Education percent for Statistics, ages 45 to 65 between -- who are 1980 and the parents 2012, the of these now overall colcollege-aged MINH-HAN VU lege enrollstudents. Each year colleges send out thousands of broment rates This surge i n c r e a s e d chures to students in the hopes of getting them to in students from 26 per- attend their school. and applica-
tions continues to drag acceptance rates to an all-time low.. In 1988, the acceptance rate for Columbia University in New York was 65 percent, according to U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges edition that year. In their most recent guide, 33,531 applied to Columbia and 2,311 were accepted. That’s less than 7 percent. Senior Alexis Morrow noted a changing, increasingly difficult process of getting into college over the past few decades. She said, “Chances are, if my dad applied to the same college he went to 30 years ago now with the same grades and scores, he wouldn’t get in. The standards now are just so much higher.” Because of many changing factors over the past few decades, children of baby boomers were born into a society that holds a college degree to a different standard. Senior Jacob Segal said, “Back in the
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